Fuel reforming device and fuel reforming method

Abstract

A fuel reforming device for reforming an air-fuel mixture includes a mixing chamber to which fuel and air are introduced and which is composed such that an air-fuel mixture flows upward; a reforming reaction chamber which is arranged downstream of the mixing chamber and which includes a reforming catalyst that reforms the air-fuel mixture; an inclined surface for recovering the fuel which has not reached the inside of the reforming reaction chamber; and a fuel recovery pipe and a fuel recovery pump which are used for re-introducing unvaporized fuel and the like collected by the inclined surface to the mixing chamber.

1. A fuel reforming device for reforming a mixture of fuel and air comprising:
 a mixing chamber to which fuel and air are introduced and which is composed such that a mixture of the fuel and the air flows upward; 
 a reforming reaction chamber which is arranged downstream of the mixing chamber and which includes a reforming catalyst that reforms the mixture; and 
 a fuel recovering portion which is arranged in a lower portion of the mixing chamber and which recovers the fuel that has not reached an inside of the reforming reaction chamber. 
 
     
     
       2. The fuel reforming device according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 a fuel injection valve which is connected to the lower portion of the mixing chamber and which injects the fuel upward, wherein the fuel recovering portion includes an inclined surface arranged around the fuel injection valve, and the inclined surface inclines downward toward the fuel injection valve. 
 
     
     
       3. The fuel reforming device according to  claim 2 , wherein the fuel recovering portion includes a fuel reservoir portion which reserves the recovered fuel, and the inclined surface forms a part of the fuel reservoir portion. 
     
     
       4. The fuel reforming device according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an introducing portion which re-introduces the recovered fuel to the mixing chamber. 
 
     
     
       5. The fuel reforming device according to  claim 4 , wherein the fuel recovering portion includes a fuel reservoir portion which reserves the recovered fuel, and the introducing portion re-introduces the reserved fuel to the mixing chamber. 
     
     
       6. The fuel reforming device according to  claim 5 , further comprising:
 a fuel injection valve which is connected to the lower portion of the mixing chamber and which injects the fuel upward; and 
 a spray portion that includes a spray hole from which the mixture formed by introducing the air to the injected fuel is sprayed, wherein the introducing portion includes a passage which permits communication between the spray hole and the fuel reservoir portion. 
 
     
     
       7. The fuel reforming device according to  claim 5 , further comprising:
 a spray portion that includes a spray hole from which the mixture formed by introducing the air to the injected fuel is sprayed; and 
 a first passage which introduces the air to the spray hole; wherein the introducing portion includes a second passage which permits communication between the fuel reservoir portion and the first passage. 
 
     
     
       8. The fuel reforming device according to  claim 4 , further comprising:
 a fuel injection valve which is connected to the lower portion of the mixing chamber and which injects the fuel upward; and 
 a fuel supply passage which supplies the fuel to the fuel injection valve, wherein the introducing portion includes a fuel recovery passage which is connected to the fuel supply passage and the lower portion of the mixing chamber; and a pump which is provided in the fuel recovery passage and which pumps the recovered fuel to the fuel supply passage. 
 
     
     
       9. The fuel reforming device according to  claim 1 , wherein the reforming reaction chamber is provided around an outer surface of the mixing chamber. 
     
     
       10. The fuel reforming device according to  claim 9 , further comprising:
 a housing portion which houses the mixing chamber and the reforming reaction chamber, wherein the housing portion includes a roof portion which is positioned above the mixing chamber and the reforming reaction chamber, and the roof portion is inclined downward toward a center of the roof portion. 
 
     
     
       11. The fuel reforming device according to  claim 1 , wherein the mixing chamber is provided below the reforming reaction chamber. 
     
     
       12. The fuel reforming device according to  claim 1 , further comprising:
 an obtaining portion which obtains an amount of the recovered fuel; and 
 a controller which sets an amount of the fuel to be introduced to the mixing chamber based on the amount of the recovered fuel obtained by the obtaining portion. 
 
     
     
       13. The fuel reforming device according to  claim 12 , further comprising:
 a fuel injection valve which is connected to the lower portion of the mixing chamber and which injects the fuel upward, wherein the controller controls the fuel injection valve such that the fuel injection valve injects the set amount of the fuel. 
 
     
     
       14. The fuel reforming device according to  claim 12 , further comprising:
 a timer which measures time that has elapsed since introduction of the fuel and the air to the mixing chamber is started, wherein the obtaining portion estimates the amount of the recovered fuel based on the time obtained by the measurement, in order to obtain the amount of the recovered fuel. 
 
     
     
       15. The fuel reforming device according to  claim 12 , further comprising:
 a detector which detects a catalyst temperature of the reforming catalyst, wherein the obtaining portion estimates the amount of the recovered fuel based on the detected catalyst temperature, in order to obtain the amount of the recovered fuel. 
 
     
     
       16. The fuel reforming device according to  claim 15 , wherein
 the detector detects a gas temperature of reformed gas at a position downstream of the reforming catalyst, as the catalyst temperature, and 
 the obtaining portion estimates the amount of the recovered fuel based on the detected gas temperature, in order to obtain the amount of the recovered fuel. 
 
     
     
       17. A fuel reforming method for reforming a mixture of fuel and air, wherein fuel and air are introduced to a mixing chamber, and a mixture of the fuel and the air is made to flow upward in the mixing chamber and flows into a reforming reaction chamber arranged downstream of the mixing chamber, and the fuel which has not reached an inside of the reforming reaction chamber is recovered at a lower portion of the mixing chamber. 
     
     
       18. A fuel reforming device for reforming a mixture of fuel and air, comprising:
 a mixing chamber to which fuel and air are introduced and which is composed such that a mixture of the fuel and the air flows upward; 
 a reforming reaction chamber which is arranged downstream of the mixing chamber and which includes a reforming catalyst that reforms the mixture; and 
 fuel recovering means for recovering the fuel that has not reached an inside of the reforming reaction chamber, which is arranged in a lower portion of the mixing chamber. 
 
     
     
       19. The fuel reforming device according to  claim 18 , further comprising:
 introducing means for re-introducing the recovered fuel to the mixing chamber. 
 
     
     
       20. The fuel reforming device according to  claim 19 , further comprising:
 fuel recovery amount obtaining means for obtaining an amount of the recovered fuel; and 
 setting means for setting an amount of the fuel to be introduced to the mixing chamber based on the amount of the recovered fuel, which is obtained by the fuel recovery amount obtaining means.